Revival project

With NIFT trainers, craftspersons are reinterpreting their heritage for contemporary use.  UPASANA SINGH checks out a display

Lac bangles with abstract motifs that would suit the urban tribe, Pulicat palm leaves moulded as eco-friendly and water-resistant shopping bags, brooms converted to flower rattles, tanpura, a variant of the traditional instrument, creatively made by sticking wood on dried pumpkin and a flat sitar were some of the innovations at an exhibition to promote handicrafts and handlooms in the city.

Jointly hosted by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology), the exhibition was titled Pratibimb, under the scheme of USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional art/craft for Development). NIFT instructors are mentoring and coaching minority artisans and craftspeople to revive their traditional expertise and reinterpret them for the contemporary urban market. So there were 25 crafts — from Channapatna toys and Bidri ware of the south to the woodwork of Nagaland, the brocades of Banaras and the Tibetan carpets of Dharamshala — on display. “All these crafts have been developed in view of uplifting the  minority community, traditionally practising the art for generations. The artisans have undergone a two-year programme followed by a diagnostic study of the craft and repeated workshops to help them excel  in and revive the authenticity of the craft practised ages ago. Then we help them apply the traditional logic in creating items of art and everyday utility,” said  Mohammed Ansar, NIFT associate professor. “The reacquisition of skills and knowhow is less challenging for rural artisans than to understand and grab the changing demands of urban markets. We are trying to ensure that their competencies are sharpened over this period of time by giving them insights on how to carry the legacy forward in the modern sense,” he added.

Giving an insight into how one of the oldest techniques of ship-building had been contemporised for making showpieces by Kerala artisans, NIFT assistant professor Arun Mascarenhas shared, “As much as India was known for its spices, ships happened to be a byproduct of the lucrative spice trade. It grew as an allied industry because of the availability of teakwood. Arabian sailors migrated here to make ships till merchant ship-making shifted to India. So now we recreate the same ship in miniature and use it either as a spice container with carved out boxes in its interior or a decorative display.”

Artisans from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan and Assam demonstrated how they used their expertise and traditional materials to make handy goods like photo frames, handbags, baskets and accessories for customers.

Mascarenhas further added, “For rural artists, who are unaware of the value of traditional art in the contemporary scenario, our workshops will provide them a direct insight into where  innovation is needed to match it with modern needs of customers. This way, they will preserve the art as well as again use it as a source of income generation.”

Muhammad Salim and Muhammad Mujaab Ahmed from Hyderabad demonstrated how they played around with lac bangles by moulding them into abstract shapes and embossing them with abstract motifs.  Pulicat women remodelled their native palm leaves to make eco-friendly shopping bags, flower rattles, fancy bins, fruit trays, tissue paper baskets and table tops for decoration as well as household uses. These reinterpretations have helped them enter new markets in countries like the UK, Italy, USA and earn significantly from exports.

Kantha patchworks on fine cotton fabrics embellished with block printing made for a creative blend of boho chic. We saw it being abundantly used on cushion covers, bedsheets, table runners, handbags, laptop bags and photo frames.

Lipika Jain and Manju Baid Jain from Udaipur have mastered the art of Western silhouette to keep supplying hand-woven tops, kurtas and bags to  the international market and ensure their livelihoods.

Phulkari, which has all but lost its authenticity with the ease of rolling out traced designs and mechanised processes,  was originally meant to be done impromptu from a corner of the cloth and then spread to other areas. But Niharika S. Michael of the NGO helping the artistes to build sustainable livelihoods, said,  “Hand-embroidered products have deep values attached to them as every piece holds a story of its artist in it and takes painstaking efforts to produce. However, she believes that in the modern market, the traditional craft can only be preserved if the originality of the craft is not disturbed entirely while giving a little touch of contemporary accent to it.